Fere
by Shosho Suemasa
Summary: And although Kisame always listened to him, the sight of a skinny thirteen year old with the ANBU uniform never find its way to escape Kisame's eyes whenever it wishes to. [This work has also published on my AO3 account.]
It took him walking through a certain forest, drinking from a certain river, and arriving to the side of a certain beach to realize just how different indeed his and Itachi's camaraderie has been compared to the rest of Akatsuki' partnered members'.

And although Kisame always listened to him, the sight of a skinny thirteen year old wrapped in ANBU uniform never find its way to escape Kisame's eyes whenever it wishes to. Those big, bright eyes with long lashes were staring hard at Madara with tear-stained cheeks. Kisame had watched him grow since then, but even the exquisitely contrasting mild manner this young lad has used upon meeting him for the first time would never let Kisame forget it.

 _"_ _He's a child prodigy and I really wished he was a somehow built-in cold-blooded soldier… haha,"_ he could almost hear Uchiha Madara's words from those early years right here, right now, _"But he's just a kid, Kisame."_

Rain dropped fast at the exact same time Kisame found himself facing Itachi's back.

"You know, at this point, one could've mistaken you for crying," Kisame said before kicking pebbles. It's not often that he's unsure of what to do, what to expect of him, even though this kind of silence always surround them.

"It's a shame that your bro—"

"No…" at that Kisame tilted his head, only to glare straight onto Itachi's eyes.

The latter had no idea how looking back at him like that makes Kisame's breathe hitch, "…we shouldn't stay out here, Itachi _-san_."

"He's not dead yet."

Kisame doesn't know if it's the hazy stare, the ever present whispery vague sentences—he doesn't even know what in hell he's feeling right now—or is it the distance between them that only gets further and further nowadays. But,

 _"_ _You got lost in the mist and ended up here…"_

Why he's listening to that side of Itachi again, he won't ever have a clue. _"You're just a thug who didn't know where to go… am I right?"_

"Maybe we should find something to eat, Itachi _-san_ … there's a dango shop nearby."

Itachi doesn't say anything, so much for the strange things Kisame is feeling because it's always been like this. This is what happens whenever they're looking into each other's eyes.

Kisame was never sure about his, but Itachi's eyes kept giving nothing away. It always spoke more than the latter's words, though, but now Kisame knew it's one of the things strangling him at the moment.

"…what?"

"The storm would pass, Kisame."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's stop by the dango shop."

Kisame doesn't wipe the trickling cold sweat from his temple. He lifted the suddenly excited Samehada instead, puts it on his shoulder, trying hard not to move closer to Itachi.

"Could you really face Sasuke at this stage?"

It's not about the amaterasu, really.

"I don't want to fight you like this, Kisame."

It's almost about the naivety Itachi used to show, every time he talked to Madara.

"Then how about we call it a day, hmm, Itachi _-san_?"

For he knew Itachi must have noticed his presence behind the trees as the former trained under Madara's surveillance inside this forest they've just fought in. He must know how Kisame would always standing not far behind him, staring daggers through his skull searching for something Kisame didn't know himself just to kill time.

"It's sad parting with you like this,"

Kisame knew Itachi knew.

"…after all we've been through."

Kisame thanked him for not turning back, for silently walking away from him. He felt his whole body throbs, his throat sore, some things with the absence of its names didn't left his mouth and his right eye began to sting.

 _"_ _You do know you're treating him like a child, right?"_

At that second Kisame realized just how far they've gotten themselves into this… unnamed thing, that it has caught even Sasori's attention, back when things were still almost peaceful.

 _"_ _Yea, you're obviously babysitting him,"_ even managing to make Deidara agreed to what Sasori had to say.

Disguised Madara is there, between the woods, Kisame almost missed his flowing chakra.

He's too unforgivably choked by the fact that the kid would not be around for a long time to notice.

 _"_ _I didn't say he was babysitting Uchiha, Kid,"_ _huffed Sasori while rubbing one of his puppets,_ _"I don't mean to meddle, but let's not get too empathic, Kisame. That Uchiha kid doesn't know what he'd gotten into, much less you."_


End file.
